Patti's After-Party: Meet South Carolina's Kile Antone

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You never know when an interview is going to completely surprise you, but that happened today, just minutes ago actually. I rarely write an interview immediately after I hang up the phone, but I’m doing it now. I had an audio issue with the recording, so in an attempt to capture the true essence of my interview with South Carolina’s Kile Antone, I’m hopping right to it before my memory fades. What was surprising about the interview was how at ease Antone was in discussing his life and career, almost like he’s used to speaking with the media every day. He comes across as professional, but down-to-earth. In a nutshell, it was an interesting and solid conversation.

While the name Kile Antone may not ring a bell to everyone, I promise you he’s got quite a hold on the area he’s from. Born and raised in upstate South Carolina near the North Carolina border, with a gorgeous landscape of mountains and lakes, Antone still resides about 40 miles from the place he grew up. That says a lot about his love for the area. He’s been playing regional shows for a while now, but that’s after a long hiatus from music to raise a family and be engaged in several different careers. Now that he and his wife are empty nesters, with the exception of their dog Bailey, he has returned to music and appears to be going at it fervently. Well, as much as he can while still working a full-time job.

After 20 years in law enforcement, he became a paramedic and has spent 29 years as a pastor. Highly dedicated to each of those careers, he found that as rewarding as being a paramedic was, it was becoming physically and mentally exhausting, so he turned to education. He currently works as Paramedic Program Director at Piedmont Technical College. The job encompasses more than just getting future paramedics off the ground, there's so many other aspects, including radiology, biology and veterinary. 

So how does a guy with a major full-time job manage a music career? Carefully and quite frankly, intelligently. He got back in the game the right way. He was recently signed to GAC Records, the label founded by country music artist Leon Everette, another native South Carolinian. The label focuses on the support of independent artists and offers a wide range of services under one umbrella. Antone’s team also includes his manager Wes Fricks, Publicist Scott Sexton and Booking Agent Beverly Gosdin Jenkins. Being an independent musician is a lot of work, having help makes it so much easier, and Antone stressed how blessed he was to have these people there to assist in guiding his career.

Kile Antone picked up a guitar at 14 and found inspiration to play and write music from the historic Oolenoy Community House in Pumpkintown, South Carolina. According to Antone, way back in the day, that area grew “an amazing amount of pumpkins,” hence the name of the town. While it’s certainly the epitome of a small town, it’s also well-known for its annual Fall Pumpkintown Festival, with live bluegrass and country music, homemade arts and crafts and of course, pumpkins. People travel from all over to attend the festival.

As it happens, life came along and music took a back seat for a while. Marriage, kids, jobs and all the assorted “stuff” that goes with all of that left the music dream on the bench until recently, but was never forgotten entirely. Antone told me he loves playing music at home just for fun. “I’m constantly learning new songs and trying them out on my wife and my dog Bailey.” Often it’s his wife who suggests a song he should learn and he does it. “My wife and my dog are my best fans and my best audience,” he shared.

Antone’s musical background comes from several branches of the big country music tree, including bluegrass, gospel, traditional and 80s, 90s and 2000s country. Just to get a better idea of what really gets his musical mind spinning when he creates his own songs, I asked him to tell me his favorite artists from each of those categories. For bluegrass, he loves Ricky Skaggs and even expressed a great desire to one day meet the man leading the fabulous Kentucky Thunder band. When it comes to traditional (or classic) country, he picked two favorites, Merle Haggard and Glen Campbell. As for gospel, he adores CeCe Winans. He remarked that when he’s having a bad day, he’ll put on her music and just let the stress melt away. The King of Country Music, Mr. George Strait, took Antone’s top prize for 80s country, followed by Toby Keith in the 90s and Brooks & Dunn in the 90s and 2000s. 

“Drink Some More” is the most recent single from Kile Antone. Self-penned and recorded at Studio 101 in Woodruff, South Carolina, the song’s title might mislead some people. Before listening to it, I thought it was going to be a rollicking bar tune, but it definitely isn’t that. Antone explained that one late night, he received a call, prompting him to immediately put on his pastor hat. A distressed woman from his congregation phoned him to ask for his help. She and her husband were on vacation, became a bit too intoxicated and had a major fight. She needed advice. 

Although he isn’t a huge drinker himself, Kile Antone knows about the evils of alcohol use in excess, having grown up with “a raging alcoholic” father. As he lent his ear and consoled this woman, his memory flung back to the days living through alcohol-fueled, difficult moments with his dad. That in turn quickly formed a song in his mind. “Drink Some More” is aptly titled. As Antone told me, sometimes intoxicated hard drinkers experience negative emotions when they've had too much to drink. They believe a little bit more alcohol will help make things better, but it almost always backfires. The woman on the phone felt helpless to do anything to fix things, saying no matter what she said or did, her husband would only drink some more. A song was born. A truly good one.

“Drink Some More” is available now on all streaming platforms. You can listen right now by clicking HERE.

If you get the opportunity to see a live Kile Antone show, you might be seeing him with his acoustic trio, The Open Range Band or possibly with The Storm Front Band, which is Antone’s full band. Interestingly, The Storm Front Band got its name because every time they rehearsed, it would rain. When they were searching for a name for the band, it was kind of fitting to pay homage to the inclement weather, and just like that, The Storm Front Band came to be. Oddly, since they’ve been playing festivals and such, it has also rained “almost every time,” according to Antone. If you go to see them, you might want to pack some rain gear, just in case.

Since the relaunch of Antone's music career is still relatively new, what goals does he have for himself? “Touring,” he revealed. “I haven’t been able to do that yet. I’ve played a lot in my own area, but I’d like to go to new places and tour across the country.” He also shared that it would be the greatest thrill of his life to someday play the Grand Ole Opry or The Ryman. In addition to performing on stage, he'd like to record one full album a year "until I can't do it anymore." 

If there’s one thing I know for sure, Kile Antone is a southern man. I asked him some “southern” questions. What’s his favorite southern food? Barbeque, smoked pulled pork. His favorite southern day out with his family? Going to the lake and just having a good time. His best southern advice? “Never impose yourself on anybody and be kind.” 

Next I asked him a question drawn from a box of random question cards. “If you were given a gift certificate for $100.00 to spend at any store, where would you choose to cash it in?” His seriously quick reply was “Bass Pro Shop.”

Finally, because we are Center Stage Magazine, what is a memorable moment Kile Antone has where he felt like he was “center stage?” He related a story about his time as a paramedic. He was in the back of an ambulance with an elderly lady with dementia. She was scared, crying, screaming and beginning to panic as Antone was sticking a needle in her arm, he made an effort to calm her down by singing “Amazing Grace." It wasn’t long before the woman began to relax and even started singing along with him. He said, “There have been many times where I felt ‘center stage,’ but I can’t think of any that were more important than that one.” I can’t imagine there was a better answer to that question either. Throughout his life he’s always helped people; in law enforcement, as an EMT, a pastor and now as an educator. He summed it up by saying, “I think that’s what I’m here for, to serve people.” You can argue with that.

To stay in the Kile Antone loop, follow him on social media and check out his website. There you’ll find his music and his show schedule. If you leave him a comment on his socials, be sure to let him know Center Stage Magazine sent you!